Designed to shield people from legal consequences of not complying with civil rights laws

The backlash following civil rights advancements in this country has been primarily encouraged by a religious right claiming that such progress has come at the expense of religious beliefs and practices. And they have been making their case sometimes quite literally in court.

A slew of what Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy are calling “religious imposition” bills are now being introduced in states around the country. These bills are designed to protect individuals as well as businesses from the legal consequences of refusing to comply with civil rights laws.

For example, under these new laws, civil servants could deny same-sex couples marriage licenses, say Pieklo and Gandy, or hospitals could turn away patients in the middle of a miscarriage without suffering any legal consequences.